If you die without a Will (intestate) then the first £270,000 of their Estate (or all of their Estate if it is valued at less than £270,000) will pass to their SPOUSE – this means that they must be legally married or have entered into a Civil Partnership. A partner does not receive the same status or eligibility. 

Anything above the £270,000 will be split in half; 50% of the half will pass equally between the deceased’s children and the remaining 50% will pass to the SPOUSE.

Where there are no children of the deceased, the SPOUSE will inherit everything.

Where there is NO SPOUSE (legally married or civil partnership); any children of the deceased will inherit first and if there are no children then the following order is followed:

• Surviving PARENTS of the deceased;
• Surviving SIBLINGS of the deceased;
• Surviving HALF-SIBLINGS of the deceased;
• Surviving GRANDPARENTS of the deceased;
• Surviving AUNTS & UNCLES (or their children should they have predeceased) of the deceased;
• THE CROWN

As you can see, without a Will, a partner is entitled to NOTHING!

However, this can all be put in order with a Will. Putting a Will in place means that you get to choose who inherits and where your Estate passes following your death.

That isn’t to say that it may not be beneficial to get married…not just because of the romance (of course!) but there are also some tax advantages for married couples / civil partnerships too!